Castles, Steam & Aberlour Highland Games

Stretching from Banff in the north to
Montrose in the east, Aberdeenshires beautiful coastline
is dotted with pretty seaside towns, rugged cliffs and sandy
bays. The city of Aberdeen is commonly known as the
granite city due to the locally quarried grey stone
buildings including the Marischal College  the
worlds second largest granite structure. The Aberlour
Strathspey Highland Games have been held for the past 76 years
and feature massed pipe bands, heavy and light events, Highland
dancing, tug o war and haggis hurling competitions.

Our base for the tour is the superb MERCURE ARDOE
HOUSE HOTEL & SPA which lies within 30 acres of
peaceful countryside just south of Aberdeen. This former 19th
century mansion still retains many original features and
includes a lounge/bar, grand drawing room with wood panelling
and restaurant serving locally sourced food. Complimentary
leisure facilities include a pool, sauna and steam room and all
of the well furnished en suite bedrooms have tv, hairdryer and
hospitality tray. A passenger lift serves all floors.

BRIEF ITINERARY

Thursday 1st AugustDeparting Newark early morning, we principally utilise the motorway system to travel north over the Pennines to Gretna Green then by passing Glasgow, so to our base at Aberdeen.

Friday 2nd – Monday 5th AugustScheduled excursions during the stay will include the following:• Full day tour via the lovely coastal town of Stonehaven with its picturesque harbour to view Dunnottar Castle which enjoys a spectacular location perched on a cliff top with stunning seascape views and a great photo-stop opportunity. We then continue south for a return journey aboard the Caledonian Steam Railway between the town of Brechin and the countryside stop of Bridge of Dun.• Our coach will transfer us the short distance in to Aberdeen – ‘the city by the sea’ where huge ships appear to dock right next to city streets and bottle nose dolphins are a common sight in the harbour.• Perhaps the highlight of the tour – a full day visit to the Aberlour Strathspey Highland Games. According to tradition, Scottish Highland Games had their beginning when the kings and clan chiefs of Scotland sought their best men at arms by caber tossing, archery and hammer throwing. The present day popularity of the Highland Games is largely credited to Queen Victoria who developed a love for Scotland, its people and all things Scottish early in her life.• Half day visit to the National Trust for Scotland owned Crathes Castle and Gardens noted for its fairytale like turrets and fantastic gargoyles. The colourful formal gardens are divided in to eight themed areas by Irish yew hedges dating back to 1700.

Tuesday 6th AugustDeparting after breakfast we return, so home to Newark for approximately late teatime/early evening.

B, D

B=Breakfast Included, D=Dinner Included

PRICE £ 519 per person sharing an en
suite twin/double bedded room.

SUPPLEMENTS

Twin/Double room for sole occupancy £140.00

Please see page 20 of our brochure for details of optional
travel insurance

Pick ups over 10 miles radius of Newark

*Please see inside front cover brochure for details of our
early booking discounts and pick up supplements.